Ambrozuk headed to trial

Suspect in 1982 drowning death changes his plea after probation recommendation falls through

Jerry Ambrozuk will stand trial.

In a surprise move Wednesday, Jaroslaw "Jerry" Ambrozuk was allowed to reinstate his original plea of innocent on a charge of negligent homicide for allegedly causing Dianne Babcock's death when he crashed their rented plane into Little Bitterroot Lake more than 24 years ago.

It was the second reversal in the case in the past five weeks.

On Feb. 1, he had changed his "not guilty" plea to "no contest" - a move that skipped the trial phase and moved directly to sentencing.

Ambrozuk's attorney, Pat Sherlock, and Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan had agreed to recommend 10 years' unsupervised probation, but with Sherlock asking for a deferred sentence that would be removed from his record after probation is successfully finished.

Nothing more than probation was recommended, in part, because Ambrozuk still faces federal court action and possible penalties in Texas involving passport fraud.

Now he could be found innocent or convicted at trial on the negligent homicide charge, with a new sentence considered.

Wednesday's sudden change came after probation officer Kyle Hinzman's testimony made it clear that Ambrozuk's likelihood of being deported to Canada after federal action means, in essence, he could end up facing no consequences for the negligent homicide charge.

The United States loses all jurisdiction when it deports him, so even 10 years' supervised probation could not be enforced.

Whether he is sentenced in federal court or not, and regardless of the time served, "he's still going to Canada eventually, right?" Sherlock asked Hinzman. That is where the Polish-born man lived until 1982.

"A 95 percent chance," Hinzman answered, citing information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

But if he serves any state-imposed time in Montana first, Stadler clarified, there's no chance of parole because of the pending federal charges.

The judge said there is no guarantee the federal court would find Ambrozuk guilty, much less impose a substantial sentence. So if Ambrozuk received probation only, "You could go down there [Texas] and do the same thing," Stadler said.

"What I'm hearing [from the probation recommendation] is there is not a reason in the world for this court to impose any sentence," Stadler said.

He asked Corrigan to reiterate the recommendation - 10 years in the state prison, with all suspended - then called a short recess for attorneys to confer.

After the break, Stadler asked Corrigan whether he still considered the recommendation appropriate.

"I was not aware he could not be supervised in Canada," Corrigan said.

"Initially I had thought it would be appropriate," but with the "significant change of circumstances" and the Babcock family's opposition, Corrigan said, "I would like to give Mr. Ambrozuk an opportunity to withdraw his plea."

Stadler said he has "no question this was a joint venture between" Babcock and Ambrozuk, both 18 at the time, to run away from home and start a new life in the United States.

"But I would have found the 10-year probation inappropriate," Stadler said. "In effect, it would be a misdemeanor sentence. Six months in jail and then goodbye."

When the judge asked, Sherlock said that his client did want to withdraw the "no contest" plea and enter a plea of not guilty.

Corrigan asked Stadler to schedule a trial date within the next 80 days.

Until then, Ambrozuk will remain in the Flathead County jail, where he has spent 190 days since his arrest and extradition from Texas last fall.

"At least he's not going to just walk out of here," said Dianne Babcock's brother, Geoffrey Babcock, after the decision.

But "I can't say satisfaction" was delivered by Ambrozuk's pending trial. "There's no satisfaction."

He had testified earlier at the sentencing hearing, as did his two sisters, Linda Babcock and Jodi Stephen, and their father, Gerald Babcock.

Ambrozuk's sister, Renata Wierzbicki, spoke on behalf of her brother and their parents, Helena and Tadeusz Ambrozuk.

All members of both families live in and near Vancouver, B.C., and on Vancouver Island.

Linda Babcock recalled a "strong-headed" and family-oriented sister who planned to pursue nursing, worked with handicapped children and was an accomplished pianist.

"I'm very proud of what my little sister accomplished in her life," Linda Babcock said.

Gerald Babcock explained his wife could not be in Kalispell because she died in a traffic crash in August 1999 as they made their annual drive to visit their daughter's grave. He said Dianne's death was "devastating" to Adele Babcock, whose life "centered around her children."

He recalled his objection to his daughter's plans to fly east to Penticton with Ambrozuk on only his second solo flight, ostensibly for a picnic and a day on the water in an inflatable dingy packed in the back of the two-seater Cessna 150.

Despite Ambrozuk's proclaimed love for his daughter, he said he saw no signs of affection from him toward her.

Her studies on the Saturday night before the plane ride, her excitement about planning for her first day of psychiatric-nursing studies on Monday and the lightly packed bag with few clothes and no toothbrush or cosmetic bag convinced him she did not intend to run away.

He also did not believe she could hide such a plan from the family, though he conceded later it was possible.

"Jerry, I've been hearing for quite some time now this word 'accident,'" Gerald Babcock said when asked whether he had anything to say to Ambrozuk, "and I must say I'm quite upset about it." He read a definition of the word that included "unintentional" as one quality of an accident.

"What part of the crashing of that airplane into Little Bitterroot Lake was unintentional?"

Jodi Stephen talked through tears about desperately missing her older sister, and how she considered Ambrozuk's talk at the time as nothing more than bravado.

"She didn't deserve to die like that," Stephen said. "She was a bronze medallion swimmer, for Christ's sake. She was a very strong person."

Geoffrey Babcock, noting that this was the first time he had seen his father cry, echoed the family's objection to probation.

"It would basically be a process of getting Jerry out of the United States," Geoffrey Babcock said. "Jail would mean something to him. Getting out of the United States would not."

Wierzbicki spoke about her parents' hardship in the loss of their son, in effect, for the past 24 years - Ambrozuk vanished after the crash and was arrested Aug. 30, 2006, in Texas - and about their delight to have him back, even if in jail. She recounted the close relationship she shares with her brother now, calling him a "loving, caring brother" who regrets the foolish actions of his younger years.

She said this situation has been "very difficult" for him, and it has imposed a "great weight" on him. Not a day when they talked has gone by, she said, that he did not grieve Dianne Babcock's death.

He is looking forward to the "resolution of this case, he is happy to have a chance to resolve this," Wierzbicki said, and is "ready and willing to accept his punishment. … He realizes he should have dealt with this long ago."

Struggling with her own tears, she added a last word to Dianne Babcock's family.

"We want the Babcock family to know that Jerry did not intend this … to end in Dianne's death."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com